Track Call Center Operational Metrics with a WFM Tool

‘What are the best operational metrics to track with a Workforce Management (WFM) tool?’ is a complex question that Lane Winward of inContact, a cloud and hosted contact center software provider, is asked all of the time.

On the surface, according to Winward, WFM planning only requires three metrics including the amount of work items performed, the time the work items come in, as well as the length of time they take to handle.

When it comes to other areas of work in comparison to contact centers, the metrics may stack up differently. For example, to schedule staffing for a doctor’s office, you would need to know how many patients come in each day, when do the patients come in (Arrival Pattern) and how long it takes to help each patient (Handle Time). The Handle Time counts as when the patient actually sees the doctor. The time a patient walks into the office, sits and waits is called “In Queue" time, and when a doctor is seeing a patient, but leaves the room and comes back later, is "Hold Time".

“Most of the time no matter what the work situation, whether it is in a contact center, a doctor’s office, or even maybe such a place as a retail outlet - in the simplest form we would only need the three metrics mentioned above to perform workforce management scheduling,” explained Winward.

But, in a world of competition where everyone uses the same metrics, a company bent on providing more efficient service would need to get more precise staffing predictions. To do so they would need to use additional metrics or "KPI's" to get better staffing predictions.

“WFM is all about scheduling the right, person at the right place, at the right time,” Winward wrote. “However, if you do only schedule the right person, at the right place, at the right time, you will experience failures much of the time. Sometimes these failures will be catastrophic!”

These failures happen because we need additional KPIs to make WFM work efficiently. Not only do we need the right person, at the right place, at the right time - but also, the right tools.

When it comes to contact centers, not having the right tools is one of the most frequent categories of problems Winward regularly sees and improves.

KPI's are different for every contact center and thought needs to be invested in finding out what they are for each individual business. Here are KPIs that could be measured in order to produce a more efficient schedule:

·Proficiency

·Quality

·Personal adherence percentage

·Punctuality

·First call resolution

·Sales conversion rate

·Survey rate

·Documentation accuracy rate

So, what are the best operational metrics to track with a WFM tool? In order to stay competitive, you should research exactly what these might be for your business.